By Brian O’Neill
Mayor John Street has announced that the former Philadelphia State Hospital
site Ñ commonly known as Byberry Ñ will be part of his Neighborhood
Transformation Initiative (NTI). Up to $15 million in anti-blight funds will
be used for demolition.
The Neighborhood Transformation Initiative was designed to save declining
neighborhoods in our city. NTI funds are supposed to be used to tear down
abandoned houses, which are often used for drug sales, to preserve existing
houses, assemble vacant land, and bring in developers to rebuild these neighborhoods.
I have told Mayor Street that Somerton is not a neighborhood in need of NTI
funds.
Over the years, I have worked with community groups, particularly the Somerton
Civic Association, our state legislators, particularly state Rep. George Kenney,
and the city and the state to find the best way to use the Byberry site, which
has been vacant for nearly 13 years.
The latest plans call for the right mix of residential, commercial and open-space
development. Mayor Street’s injection of NTI could overturn these plans
and reduce the say that the community will have in the use of the Byberry
site.
An estimated $15 million will be needed to demolish the dilapidated buildings
on the old state hospital grounds and correct environmental dangers. These
funds should come from the sale of land to private developers and the state.
Byberry was a state hospital. The state built the campus. The asbestos in
the buildings is the responsibility of the state.
Given its location in Somerton, new homes could sell for $400,000. Given the
access to U.S. Route 1, the Woodhaven Expressway, I-95 and the Pennsylvania
Turnpike, the Byberry tract could be a prized corporate headquarters.
NTI was designed for low-income neighborhoods. Less prosperous parts of Philadelphia
need the NTI money. Mayor Street’s plan would deprive low-income Philadelphians
of the help that they need. Join me in telling Mayor Street, “No thank
you.” ••
(Mr. O’Neill represents the 10th Councilmanic District in the Far Northeast.)